The St. Louis Blues played the Anaheim Ducks in a midseason game on March 16.
Junior David Belleville witnessed a 2-1 overtime victory from ice-level with all-inclusive tickets, which included free beverages and free food throughout the game. He attended the game with his grandfather Ed Weckherlin, along with his great uncle and a family friend.
"It was just a really great night," Belleville said. "It was the first and only time that I ever went to a Blues game with my grandpa."
The game fell on the first Saturday of Spring Break. Two weeks earlier, Weckherlin told Belleville that he wanted to go to a game with him and then bought two nosebleed seats for him and Belleville. A week later, his grandfather called and said that his aunt had gotten them four all-inclusive tickets.
Tragedy would unexpectedly occur just two days later when Weckherlin died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 64.
"That kind of caught my whole family off-guard," Belleville said. "Nobody was really expecting it."
Belleville then felt compelled to fill out a customer service survey he found online, telling the Blues organization about his great experience at the March 16 game.
"There was a section where they asked you about your experience," Belleville said. "And I filled that out and I basically told them everything and how it was the last time that I got to spend time with my grandpa and how it was such a great night and what they're doing is making a difference."
Belleville did not anticipate that anyone would get back to him.
"I thought that survey was going to end up somewhere in a cubicle," Belleville said. "I thought it was literally going to go to some guy working in a cubicle."
Instead, Belleville heard back from four members of the St. Louis Blues front office offering their condolences, including owner Tom Stillman. The Blues front office thought that Belleville's story was touching.
"His story was very emotional with the loss of his grandfather, and we were honored that their last time together was at a Blues game," St. Louis Blues vice president of public relations Mike Caruso said in an email.
Bruce Affleck, a former Blues player and broadcaster even attended Belleville's grandfather's funeral. Affleck told Belleville to keep in touch with him since the Blues wanted to get Belleville in the press box the next game he attended. Being a journalism and TV and film major, getting to go to the press box was a good experience for Belleville.
Belleville stayed in contact with Affleck, and he gave Belleville a list of dates to choose from to attend a game.
April 16 stood out to Belleville the most. That was his grandparents Ed and Sue Wechkerlin's anniversary.
He was supposed to go by himself but asked the Blues if he could bring someone else.
"When I found out the game was on my grandma and grandpa's anniversary, I thought it was perfect, and that I had to take [my grandma] then," Belleville said. "Her and my grandpa had season tickets back in the 60s and they were both big Blues fans forever, so I thought it was right to bring her."
When Belleville and his grandmother arrived, Caruso was waiting for them with tickets. They were taken to the press box, and Belleville got to sit in the KMOX radio booth.
Belleville sat next to Chris Kerber, the play-by-play broadcaster for KMOX and Blues hockey. Belleville even wore a headset and got to give his opinion to Kerber during commercial breaks.
"He was giving me pointers and was going over what he was doing," Belleville said. "He was constantly updating me on the notes he was taking and how he retrieved his information and how he organized it. It was a pretty cool experience."
Belleville could not believe how generous the Blues organization was to him.
"I thought [the survey] was literally going to go to some guy working in a cubicle and I, for my own personal reasons, I thought I needed to write that or fill out that survey," Belleville said.
"And then it blew up to something where I heard from four members of the front office offering their condolences and they offered me free tickets and the time in the booth. It showed what a classy organization the Blues are, and I appreciated it a lot."
One month after witnessing the Blues win in overtime with his grandfather, Belleville got to witness a 2-1 shootout victory over the Vancouver Canucks with his grandmother on his grandparents' anniversary.
The Blues skated off the ice victorious and Belleville shared an experience with a grandparent at both games.
